The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. However, these advances have increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs and, for these advances to be realized, similar developments in IC processing and manufacturing are needed. In the course of integrated circuit evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs.
As semiconductor technology evolves, Micro-Electro-Mechanical (or Micro-Electrical-Mechanical) System (MEMS) devices may be fabricated using standard semiconductor techniques and equipment. However, conventional methods of fabricating MEMS devices may suffer from stiction (static friction) problems, which may degrade the performance of the MEMS device or even render it defective in some situations.
Therefore, while conventional MEMS device fabrication has been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in every aspect.